Mercedes-Benz has lined up four more new models for launch in India, by the end of the year, taking the total to 12 cars. The German luxury car maker plans to open three more new outlets in different parts of the country, in addition to the seventh dealership launched in Hyderabad on Monday. Mercedes now has 87 outlets across 40 cities in the country.
High end fashion for men has a fresh young spark entering the field: Fashion designer Gabriele Santoriello, whose hot new brand ITALIAN FAMILY is all about attention to detail and quality in the high-end men’s trousers segment, in true Italian fashion. Established in Cava de’ Tirreni, Campania, Italy, where the sartorial skills of expert craftsmen are part of the region’s DNA, Italian Family keeps its motto firmly under focus: Quality is never casual; it is always the result of a clever effort.
Revisiting a classic menswear staple while keeping the cut, the rich fabrics and refined details unchanged is what the designer aspires to, blending in Made in Italy sartorial tradition with his own special touch. The choice of materials and innovative production techniques is what the brand claims to be constantly on the lookout for, determining the quality and beauty of every garment. Before a pair of trousers is actually manufactured, textiles and accessories of the finest quality, deriving from the finest yarns, are carefully selected.
Gabriele Santoriello honed his designing skills through his associations with various Italian clothing companies and finally lunched his own project, Italian Family, with the collaboration of his own family. Santoriello hails from a family that a thirty-year experience in the field and specializes precisely in the tailoring of classic trousers and men’s suits.
Christie’s is now going to offer a complete set of the celebrated Michelin Guides on auction, in Paris this year on December 5. This rare ensemble comprises the 108 existing Guides published between 1900 and 2016, and is estimated at 20,000 to 30,000 euros. Additionally, the set includes the 1939 edition of the Guide that was reprinted by the American Military in 1943, ahead of the June 6 invasion in Normandy the following year. The Michelin Guide first appear in 1900, when the Michelin brothers came up with the idea of creating the celebrated Red Guide to “provide motorists travelling through France all the useful information to supply their automobile, to fix it, where to sleep and eat, and which means exist to communicate, by mail, telegraph or telephone”. While collecting multiple technical recommendations, the Guide evolved little by little. From 1923, it shifted to hotels and gastronomy, with the attribution of the celebrated stars, still an international reference. Some editions of the Michelin Guide were never published, including the years from 1915 to 1918 during the First World War, the year of 1921, and from 1940 to 1944 because of the Second World War. In 1945, after WWII, the Guide’s work was enormous: towns were destroyed, bridges demolished and roads inaccessible. However, the Guide was published on the day the Armistice was signed, and included all relevant information about the roads’ status as well as times and fees of ferryboats. The complete set of Michelin Guides will be available for public viewing on December 2, and December 3, from 10am to 6pm and Sunday December 4 from 2pm to 6pm.
You can now drive the McLaren 570S coupe on closed routes in the Arctic Circle thanks to the supercar maker’s experience specialists Pure McLaren launching a new ice driving experience in Northern Finland. The Arctic Circle experience is scheduled for January 2017. Using 570S Sports Series models configured for snow and ice, it will give customers the chance to receive professional driver training on how to make best use of the 562bhp turbocharged V8 sports car in slippery conditions, by driving on a variety of specially created tracks on snow and ice surfaces. The drive team would even help you master a trick or two including the ‘Scandinavian flick’: a special drifting technique used by rally drivers in ice racing. Alongside these, Pure McLaren is also offering a husky safari and snowmobile expedition. Guests would get to stay in the Jávri Lodge – the former home of the president of Finland – where sightings of the Northern Lights are common. Bookings for the three-night trip can be made now and the experience will run from 15 January to 3 February. Both McLaren owners and non-McLaren owners are welcome at the experience, as are those who hold no driving experience. Prices start at £12,500 per person, which includes transfers to and from the airport and winter clothing. So are you all set to race?
‘Lab 2’ is a pair of ultra luxe, futuristic earphones from S-Next, a boutique premium audio gear manufacturer based in Japan. Encased in a Steampunk styled 3D modeled casing made of Titanium, these earphones promise sound quality like never before. Housed inside the casing is a 15mm dynamic driver designed for the sole purpose of ‘accurate reproduction of audio’. The back of the driver is made of titanium too, which improves low frequency sound reproduction. The housing is designed to simulate a gap between the ear canal and the housing resulting in a natural sound field. Although metal like titanium display a very rough finish upon 3D Printing, S-Luxe has utilised a proprietary chemical treatment which increases the glossiness and according to the company results in the highest level of smoothness. Limited to just 200 units the Lab 2 earphones will be available from October 22 in Japan for 450,000 Yen ($ 4300), making them the most expensive 3D printed earphones in the world.
Chanel has added five new variants to the Flying Tourbillon series, all of which spell opulence and elegance like no other. Each of the new models features a case set with 47 baguette-cut diamonds and a bezel set with 42 baguette-cut diamonds and 52 brilliant-cut diamonds. Chanel has collaborated with Renaud et Papi Swiss master watchmakers for these new entrants. The tourbillon is powered by the manual-winding mechanical movement “Camellia Flying Tourbillon Calibre” and offers a 40-hour power reserve with a 21’600 vph vibration. Further, the watch’s gold cabochon carries another set of 19 brilliant-cut diamonds. As part of the new series, Chanel will present two editions of 20 pieces in a beige or white gold case that come with a white dial and a matching white alligator strap. A third version of 20 pieces comes in a beige gold case set on a black ceramic dial, which is further complemented with a black alligator strap. Tourbillon’s next variant is a 12 piece edition in a luxe white gold case, a black ceramic dial and a white gold bracelet set that is emblazoned with a sparkling cluster of 536 diamonds. The last one of the series is the Première Flying Tourbillon Openwork, done in beige gold in a black satin strap, which will also be presented in a limited edition of 12 pieces.
Roche Bobois has just opened the doors of its flagship store at The Gallery on MG Road in New Delhi. Spread across 8000 sq ft, the store, defined as a ‘virtual tour to Paris’ offers the same French aesthetics seen across the brand’s 250 stores worldwide. And like all the others, this too is designed by Jacqueline Hopfer, daughter of Hans Hopfer who invented the iconic Mah Jong sofa for Roche Bobois in 1971. Interestingly the brand intends to reinvent this Mah Jong sofa in collaboration with Indian designers. The Delhi store showcases Roche Bobois’s two exquisite collections Contemporary and Classic, respectively called Les Contemporains and Nouveaux Classiques, and boasts of bestsellers like the Blogger sofa, the Astrolab, Urban, and Bijou tables, and the Kasuka, Lady B, and Bergamote chairs. The brand also plans to launch the new Maison Christian Lacroix collection exclusively in Delhi. The collection has been created in association with Sacha Walckhoff, Creative Director of French luxury fashion house Maison Christian Lacroix.
Carved out of pure silver and emblazoned with 82,000 glittering Swarovski quartzes, this dazzling toy horse named ‘Crystal’ is the brainchild of Kent-based luxe firm The Fernandes Exquisite Creations in association with Stevenson Brothers and costs$112,360—a price at which you could buy many a real horse—or even an Aston Martin Vantage! Balanced on black oak runners, with fittings made of pure silver the luxe toy was on the maker’s wish list since the firm’s inception and the dream has been translated to reality after a six-month long toil. Available for purchase at the Stevenson Brothers Showroom in Bethersden, Ken, this jewelled horse will also set out on a weekend journey to Monaco before being made available for retail at the Private Buyers Department in Harrods. What’s more, a similarly bejewelled crystal zebra and unicorn are next in line. Horse people, this is your dream toy!
Marking their hundredth year, the BMW Group has revealed a swashbuckling new concept bike straight from the future. The BMW Motorrad Vision Next 100 is an extremely safety-focused vehicle, for which the company insists you need no helmet or protective clothing! It does include a special adjustable high tech thermal riding suit, though. What’s more, the mega-bike can stay upright even when parked, using a self-balancing system. The mechanism still allows riding angles and tilts fore and aft with braking or acceleration. Despite the automated system, BMW assures that the rider is still in control. The Flexframe construction allows the one-piece frame to give a full-body steering feel by the handlebars bending the entire frame rather than just the front tire. The integrated windshield also acts as a heads-up display and the tail lights are illuminated strips under the seat shell. Feast your eyes on this drool-worth superhero bike.
Swiss luxe watch brand H Moser & Cie will be making its India debut next week through a partnership with Mumbai based retailer Regalia Luxury. The brand is known for its unique fume dial and perpetual calendar watches priced upwards of Rs 11.5 lakh, which allow wearers to set the time backwards. Moser & Cie manufactures around 1,000 time pieces a year and is available in markets like Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong. Regalia Luxury also retails watch brand Bovet in India besides Italian menswear label Isaia, British shoemaker John Lobb and Italian suit brand Kiton.
